Arcadia (Faber Drama) Paperback – May 10, 1993

With the release of "Guildenstern and Rosencratz are Dead", Tom Stoppard emerged as an original voice in a literary theater world already overpopulated by past geniuses. Applying a deft combination of law of probability, nihilistic philosophizing, and comely tribute to the rich inheritance of Shakespeare, Stoppard articulated a definition of human death that was powerful and, most significantly, uniquely in his own words.In "Arcadia", an unmistakable shot at greatness, Stoppard expands both his thematic concerns and billing of characters to artistically express his own sensitivities to human drama. A quick description of the play, that it involves thermodynamics, time-travelling, and the parallelism of lives being lived in two different time periods, is enough to raise a curious eyebrow from most anyone. Does the play succeed?Yes and no. The characters are a mixed bag of lively personalities and terrible bores. Septimus Hodge and Thomasina Coverly dominate the play as the most engaging characters given the best lines to speak. Their swordsman-like rapport on the algebra of determinism is rapt, and Stoppard's blending of the wonders of science in a literary world largely allergic to numbers game is a breath of fresh air. Concurrently, how future characters Hannah Jarvis and Valentine Coverly react to the characters Septimus and Thomasina as they discover their personalities through old letters and mathematical proofs is the genius of the play, since their discovery of the past allows the audience to see how lives go on even after death and participates with our own in the present.Unfortunately, this thematic concern of life after death is fumbled a bit by ancillary characters which are necessary to clarify thematic concerns and move the plot forward but whose characterization got away from Tom somehow. Ezra Chater is a vacuous air that takes up space, Lady Croom's purported sexual attraction to Septimus goes nowhere, and Bernard Nightingale is drawn too simply as a paperthin 'villain' meant to act principally as a foil to Hannah and Valentine's pursuit of the past without true pathos of his own. To be considered a masterpiece, all the characters have to be legitimate realizations in their own way and the characterization has to be tight as a drum. Stoppard sightsees too often with ancillary characters and the result is a slightly out-of-focus play.To critically speak, Stoppard's philosophy on life as presented in "Arcadia" bears too close a resemblance to Anton Chekhov and his theatrical masterpieces "Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard". Chekhov's cleverness and wit is all over the pages of "Arcadia", and the result is a voice that is only half Stoppard's own. Stoppard handles Chekhovian dramaturgy beautifully, but the end result is not the dark energy of "Rosencratz And Guilderstern are Dead", which so painfully captures Tom Stoppard's own young voice in torment, but a sort of amalgamation between Chekhov [in the treatment of the past] and Ibsen [in the treatment of the future.] And if a playwright speaks principally through one or even two characters in his play, then Stoppard is most assuredly speaking through Thomasina Coverly. And yet her own philosophy and angst towards life, if we can attribute it to Tom Stoppard's own, is only a beautiful recitation of Anton Chekhov's genius sublimed with algebra, calculus, and physics.In conclusion, it's a welcome sound to hear the beauty of math and science being given their proper due diligence in a literary work instead of being lambasted as somehow apart and irrelevant to the human experience. Science has a lot of wonderful things to relate to mankind in the field of humanities. And it's also equally wonderful to see a playwright fully push the limits of audience patience, intelligence, and attention with sensationally dense dialogue reserved for the conversation halls of MIT. But the play as a play, as a tragedy, does not hit its mark of greatness due to the aforementioned shortcomings. It fails to decline from thinking to feeling, and in so doing, has no heartbreak to call its own.

Arcadia is a play that takes place at Sidley Park, a stately country home in Derbyshire. The play shifts back and forth between the early 19th century and modern day Sidley Park. The action in both time periods takes place in a bare room with a large table.In the 19th century, Thomasina, the daughter of the house, is working with her tutor, Septimus Hodge; there are books and Hodge’s tortoise. In the modern time, Hannah Jarvis, an author, is working on a book about the history of the gardens – or, more precisely, about the hermit-genius who lived in the 19th century gardens like a “garden ornament” or “pottery gnome”. She is joined by, among others, Valentine, a son of the house, and his tortoise. In each time period, people come and go and dramas unfold. But the room and table remain constant. As the play proceeds, everything from both time periods remains on the table. The table and its contents are period neutral, and, by the end of the play, the table has become quite cluttered with objects.There are striking parallels between the two time periods. Early on, questioning her tutor whether God is a Newtonian, Thomasina asks “[a]m I the first person to have thought of this?” (p. 9). In the modern time, Chloe asks her brother “Valentine, do you think I’m the first person to think of this?” (p. 77). There is humor. Valentine explains to Hannah how her tea is getting cold – by itself. “Your tea will end up at room temperature. What’s happening to your tea is happening to everything everywhere….It’ll take a while but we’re all going to end up at room temperature.” (p. 82). The modern day dramas involve the 19th century dramas – an attempt to sort out the past with meager historical evidence. There is poetry and duels; parks and a hermitage; heat exchange and Lord Byron. And, there is Entropy. As the play progresses, so does the chaos. Toward the end of the play, the distinct time periods begin to bleed into one another. They proceed at the same time and intertwine. Chaos ensues. The result is a fascinating, intellectual drama. Arcadia is a great read, and I hope one day to see it performed.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

In the best way. Just read it and enjoy. I’m not telling you anything more about it. Three more words.

Another reviewer began the review with this: "Arcadia is one of the most touching and enlightening works of literature I have ever read. The interweaving of ideas from physics, fractals, literature, architecture, history, psychology and many other fields of knowledge hidden in the play is just perfect." I agree with the sentiment. I adored the live play; saw it twice! I also read the play afterwards -- now twice, too. The reviewer I quoted, though, got bogged down later in the review of whether Stoppard is brilliant enough as Einstein or is just showing off. The play is not a Philosophical Inquiry of Great Rigor. The ideas, to me anyway, are like the proverbial unicorn story: see one (wow! is it real?; a couple folks see it: super-wow; but once everyone sees it: "so what? it's a horse with a horn in its head."). The delight for me was not in the "novel" ideas, but in the way in which they are used as another means of entertainment: much as characters in an Eric Rohmer (French) Film might discuss Kant's Synthetic A Priori. The characters are IMMENSELY entertaining and that they discuss philosophy or math just adds to what is entertaining about them -- specifically it adds variety. So you have the usual drama subjects, but more too. The main thing then is this: ALL is WONDERFULLY done and you derive your pleasure from all the very well-done VARIETY of fun and drama and topics ALL NICELY WOVEN TOGETHER, not hodge-podged at all.

This play by Tom Stoppard is ingenious. People from modern times are studying artefacts from a country house in the 1780s, coming up with all sorts of bizarre conclusions with scanty evidence. However, we the audience know that they're all wrong because we've seen the events from the 1780s in the first scenes of the play. The characters from the older time, especially Thomasina and her tutor Septimus, are well-drawn and enthralling, while the characters from modern times are more cynical, suspicious, but keen on their academic endeavors.There's even a tortoise on the table which appears in both time periods, and becomes the focus on several laugh-aloud jokes.I cannot do this play justice. You have to see it. Children younger than 12 are probably not the right audience for the language.About this edition, it was perfectly serviceable for what it's for. I bought it both as hard copy and Kindle, and it was fine in both version.

One of the most brilliant plays of the 20th century. And its central figure, Thomasina, the young girl who had the vision and mathematical genius to be 200 years before her time, is a deeply poignant character. it is especially poignant because she was based on a real person, Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron. In the play, as in real life, everyone knows - and many revere - Byron, while only a minority have even heard of Lovelace.

It can be hard to follow the incredibly complex theories and ideas put forward in this, but that makes it all the more rewarding. I actually did an amateur production of this years ago and rehearsed it endlessly for nearly 8 months, but even now, I find and understand new things every time I re-read it.

I went to a performance of this play in Bristol which was excellent, so wanted to read it and see if I missed any of the points the play made. Reading the play re-inforced how interesting the play is. Lots of ideas but not preachy. Will definitely look for other performances of this play and others by Stoppard.

Couldn’t believe how quickly the book arrived, superbly packed and in spanking new condition. Very happy indeed!